Pretzels = perfect post-run snack

62 degrees! That was the temperature when we woke up at 7 am on Saturday. We hadn’t seen that number in awhile. Matt and Mike headed out on their 15 mile run around 8 am. I left around 8:30 am. It was nice not having to rush out to beat the heat. I really like having my hair tightly back, although I often don’t have time to french braid it. Saturday I took my time leaving – had a cup of coffee, french-braided my hair.

Curly hair french braid

I started off too fast and really had to focus on going slow. I wanted to keep my pace between 9:30 and 10:00 minute miles. Since I’m bumping up my miles aggressively each week, I want to be very careful with not injuring myself by overdoing it and going too fast. I love running on the National Mall all the time but especially this time of year with all the runners training for marathons. At some points, it really felt like I was in a (slow) race. Even though I was running by myself technically, it was nice to be surrounded by other runners. I also love the Mall because of the loose gravel rather than pavement to run on, the frequent water fountains, the restrooms, the people watching and the gorgeous scenery.

I decided against wearing my Nathan 4 bottle water belt because my stomach was feeling a little off in the morning and I didn’t want anything tight around my stomach for 9ish miles. I actually really don’t like wearing it. I’ve only worn it once so I can’t give a valid review. I just don’t like things strapped around my waist. So I carried my Nathan large bottle, filled with water and 1/2 of a Nuun lemonade tablet. I continued on past the Lincoln Memorial to Arlington National Cemetery. I was a little nervous – I hadn’t run this far in a long time, but I tried not to think about that as I ran. I couldn’t help put some pressure on this run. If I couldn’t do it, then the half marathon would be out of the question. I really can’t afford any more setbacks if I want to be able to do the marathon. I had an Accel vanilla energy gel at mile 4.5 at Arlington Cemetery entrance. Matt described the flavor well – “It tastes like vanilla frosting on a cupcake that has been sitting in the sun too long.” This time I was able to squeeze the whole pack down in one try. This is really the first gel I’ve ever had so I don’t have much to compare it to, but it’s pretty good. I notice a big energy jump after I have one.

Looping back to the Mall, I refilled my water bottle at the WWII Memorial (one of the better fountains with a large arc – easy to fill) and threw in a half of a Nuun tablet. I wasn’t feeling as great as I felt last Saturday. My legs felt tired, my knees were sore, and I was ready to be done. At about mile 7.5, I popped a Powerbar Energy Blast. I sampled these an expo and loved them. I kept popping the gummies sporadically over the next few miles. At mile 9, back near our condo, I felt okay to do another slow mile. I ran along the river and through the park – such a nice, relaxing way to end the run! I feel great for running 10.11 miles! I did have stomach issues later on, I think due to the overly sweet Powerbar chews. It felt like they hardened in my stomach. I’ll stick with Accel from now on.

Delicious! But not my favorite running fuel.

Here are my splits: 9:13, 9:46, 9:32, 9:41, 9:57, 10:07 (water stop at a broken fountain and forgot to stop watch), 10:18 (water stop and forgot to stop my watch), 9:36, 9:44, 10:44 (knees pretty sore and tired here) I do really miss being fast. It’ll just take time. It’s only been 2 weeks since I’ve gotten back into running since my injuries.

When Mike got back, we enjoyed pretzels and gatorade on our balcony. Pretzels are one of my favorite post-run snacks. I can’t get enough salt.

Mike and I went to the Biergarten Haus later in the day for some more pretzels and delicious German beer. I’m looking forward to delicious pretzels in Philly. When we ran Broad Street a couple years ago, the volunteers handed runners soft pretzels as soon as they crossed the finish line! It was amazing.

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[…] I’m a huge fan of soft pretzels, as you can see from my numerous blog photos of them (one, two, three, four) and running just makes me crave them more. Soft pretzels provide the perfect combo of […]